"The consistent reaction (of locals to the Klan rally) is to avoid (it)," said Walter Bresette, a civil rights activist.

The American Knights of the Ku Klux Klan have scheduled a recruitment rally Saturday at the Ironwood City Hall.

After hearing about the Klan rally, Bresette formed Lake Superior Klanwatch, with the help of officials from the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Ala.

Bresette's group is organizing an off-site rally in Ironwood celebrating ethnic diversity. The group also is circulating a petition denouncing the Klan rally.

Local clergy are planning a prayer vigil, and another group is organizing a "lemonade rally." That event is a type of fundraiser where people pledge money to anti-hate group activities for each minute the Klansmen are speaking.